Tip-Toeing Outside Your Comfort Zone

How many times have you been told, “Oh come on, live a little! Step outside your comfort zone!”

And how many times have you quite literally cringed at the thought?

I have – often. It’s so incredibly stress-free to stick to the same ol’ same ol’. You don’t have to worry about potentially disliking something, or failing at something. It’s EASY. A couple years ago a good friend told me to ‘step outside my sandbox’. The words resonated then, and they still do. Every time I feel I’m on the precipice of conquering something new, I picture myself standing in a little square of sand, lifting one leg out, past the wooden sandbox edges, and toe-dipping in the grass. I imagine just how GOOD that feels.

And then I do whatever it was I was so nervous about.

Now, y’all, I’m in no way talking about conquering panic-inducing phobias and locking yourself in a room full of spiders. *waits for you to stop screaming at the thought* It’s more about doing something that challenges you, that you actually want to do, but that you didn’t have the guts to tackle before because maybe you were too nervous to do the act itself or you were worried about others’ perceptions of you. Sometimes, it’s even about following a dream.

Here’s an example. In total honesty, writing this blog, at this very second, is Maddy completely stepping outside her comfort zone, in a big, giant, humongous way. Sure, I write all the time. I’m an author and creating worlds, people and personalities, situations and plights – believe it or not, all that comes easy compared to what I’m typing right now! Those stories seem to flow smoothly out of my fingertips, whereas this – blogging – terrifies me.

Tell me you want a 90k word novel and I’ll bang it out. Tell me you want a blog on anything I feel like writing about and I have a series of mini-seizures. I was sitting in front of my computer in metaphorical tears because I had no idea what to write. Are people going to subscribe and read my blog? Will they maybe just get through the first two sentences and click away? (Bless your heart if you’re still reading, by the way!) Will they enjoy it, think it’s boring, or hate it? Will people leave a mean comment? I sit here worrying like it’s a new fad and feel as if I’m in high school all over again. “Like, oh my God, will they like…like me?”

So, m’yeah. This isn’t me just toe-dipping outside that box. I took a big ‘ol giant leap. Why would I do this to myself, you might wonder? One, because I love to write, and two, because WHY NOT? Why shouldn’t I? Can I succeed at this little challenge I’ve presented myself with? Let’s find out!

One more quick example – and if this one doesn’t prove to you that stepping outside your comfort zone is possible for anyone, I don’t know what else to tell ya. I am probably one of THE shyest people you’ll ever meet. Most people don’t believe me, because my shyness tends to turn to nervousness that makes me babble like a brook of caffeine. Even so, I wanted to try to get out of the habit of taking on the hue of a tomato anytime someone paid attention to me, so I signed up to perform in a recital. On a stage. In front of 100 or so people. Singing. With just two dudes on guitar accompanying me.

Dear God.

Petrified doesn’t even come close to describing how I felt when I stepped onto that stage. Outside the wee years of my life, if there was ever a time I needed a diaper on hand, this was it. Let’s be real for a moment: when you’re on stage with nothing but two acoustic guitars strumming along as you sing, you are leaving yourself highly vulnerable, but I got up there and sang my ass off anyhow. At one point you could even hear my voice quaking because I internally freaked the bleep out when I got a good look at the audience.

When I was done, when the cheering started, when a friend threw a bouquet of flowers onto the stage, I felt such a massive sense of accomplishment. I did it. I stepped outside that dang sandbox and I survived! I was proud I left my comfort zone way behind me and did something that was so wonderfully out of character, something I never in a million years thought I would have the courage to do. It was everything fantastic and so much more. It instilled a sense of pride and confidence in my abilities (merited or not), that it made the next time I stepped outside easier, and easier…

It boils down this this, people. I’ll never be one to say, “Pfft, you can’t do that.” No, I’ll be right there with you knocking down those barriers and helping you free yourself from that self-defined box. I’ll support you and encourage you and offer you any advice I can to help you succeed! These are just two examples of how I saved myself from a life of same ol’ same ol’ drudgery. I encourage you to do the same. Bouncing out of your comfort zone and taking risks not only helps you grow, but it can enhance your creativity, benefit your health, seriously improve your self-confidence, and it allows you to LIVE, fully. End result is, if you don’t pop your comfort bubble and try new things, you’ll never know what you’re truly capable of. And sometimes, if you never know, you will never, ever forgive yourself. What are you waiting for?

So how about you? What have you done that you’d consider to be stepping out of your cushy little zone of comfort? What do you WANT to do that maybe you’ve been too nervous to even seriously consider doing? Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!

xoxo